Coming Home to High School
by bsloths
Summary: Flashfic oneshot for carterfinley. It's Casey's birthday, and Nora decides to throw a big party. Hi-jinks ensue. Dasey.


Here's my flashfic for Mal (carterfinley). I had a great time writing this. It's just a fun, somewhat goofy take on what was an excellent prompt (you'll see what I mean). I hope you like it, Mal!

Oh, and because the LwD timeline gives me brain freeze, for the sake of this fic I'm pretending Casey's birthday is in May. And you can leave it up to your imagination what exactly transpired during "that night."

Thanks so much to Jeni27 for the beta!

--Brandi

Disclaimer: I mention so, so many things that I do not own. So just assume that the entire story does not belong to me. (Heck, even the plot isn't _technically_ mine.)

**Coming Home to High School**

"Get in the car!"

"No."

"Get in the car, Case!" Derek had been driving slowly alongside a furious Casey for three blocks.

"No. And don't call me 'Case.'"

"I'm not doing this all the way to London!"

"So don't. I'm going to walk."

"You're being ridiculous. Get in the fucking car!"

"Watch your language," Casey chided, as she pulled open the passenger door with a sigh of resignation.

"Thank you," Derek replied, not really sounding grateful at all.

They drove along in silence for awhile, until Derek couldn't stand it anymore.

"Are we going to talk about that night, or are you going to continue pretending it didn't happen?"

"I have no idea what you mean," Casey sniffed haughtily.

"Fine. Have it your way."

They both fell silent again. After about ten minutes, Derek decided it was worth another try.

"Look, that night—" He didn't get a chance to finish his sentence before Casey stuck her fingers stubbornly in her ears and began to hum a senseless tune.

Derek threw on his blinker with a violent swipe of his arm and hurled the car to the side of the road. He locked eyes with a startled Casey, and spoke slowly and clearly.

"Casey, we don't have to talk about it if you're not ready. But you can't keep pretending that it didn't happen. The last time we saw each other was last summer, and we left angry. I don't want this trip home to be the same way. We have to find a way to get back to the beginning of last summer, when we were friends."

"We were never friends," Casey scoffed, but softened when she saw how hurt Derek looked. "Well…okay, Derek. I can try. We'll just put our problems on hold and enjoy ourselves. After all, it _is_ my birthday celebration."

"That it is," Derek said with a warm smile, and he patted her knee encouragingly. "I still think we need to talk about what happened, but I guess it can wait until after your party."

"Thanks, Der." As an afterthought she added, "I'm sorry about being so rude when you came to pick me up. I was just expecting my mom, and with how we left things…"

"Apology accepted. Nora asked me to pick you up, since she's busy with last minute party prep. I knew you weren't going to be happy to see me, but _you_ try saying no to your mother when she's waving a mop in your face and going, 'Clean the kitchen or go get Casey—I don't care as long as both get done!' So I chose the lesser of two evils." Derek smirked at her.

"Gee, thanks," Casey rolled her eyes. "She's going pretty nuts, huh?"

"You know it. Dad was hiding in the garage when I left, and I think Lizzie and Ed were cowering in the games closet."

"They both still fit in there?" Casey asked in surprise.

"Not really. But I don't think they care." He wiggled his eyebrows at her. "Those two are still joined at the hip."

"Nice to know _some_ things never change." She gave him a sidelong glance and the hint of a blush crept into her cheeks.

He pretended not to notice. "I left so many voicemails, Case. I wrote you letters, emails. You didn't return any of it." Derek lowered his eyes. "That was cold."

"I don't know what to say. I really don't. Things got out of hand between us, that's all. I needed some space."

"Eight months of space?" Derek ran a hand through his hair in frustration. Casey remained quiet, so he continued. "Well, we agreed to put this on hold until after your party. So let's get going." He pulled back onto the road, and Casey heaved a sigh of relief.

DCDCDC

"Damn!" Derek slammed his fist into the dashboard.

"Just calm down, Derek, I'm calling for a tow," Casey said, phone to her ear.

The Prince, it seemed, had finally died. Derek had stopped at a stop sign, and the car had stalled. They had both gotten out to push it to the side of the road, and now they were stranded half an hour from their house.

Casey hung up with the towing company and turned to face Derek.

"Your stupid car is going to make me late for my own party!"

"Hey, don't blame me. The Prince has never failed me before!"

"I wasn't blaming you."

"Oh. Sounded like it."

They sat in silence again.

"So Mom hired a party planner?" Casey couldn't stand the tension. They never used to have a problem talking.

"Yeah. Though the house was barely even decorated when I left this morning. But I did see a lot of purple."

Casey smiled. "That'll make Marti happy."

"Yeah. She can't wait to see you. Well, everyone can't wait. You should have visited for Christmas." Derek saw she was about to respond, so he rushed on, "I mean, I know you had classes. It's just, this is the first time they're going to see you after such a long time, and it's going to be this big family reunion…thing."

"Tell me about it. I wanted a quiet birthday dinner. But then Mom called and said she wanted a big celebration with the whole family."

"Including Icky Vicky," Derek groaned, and they both made a face. "The last time I saw her was our graduation, and if she flirts with me again, I swear I'll…" but he trailed off when he saw Casey's expression tighten. "Well, anyway, it should be a nice party, though why Nora didn't wait to do this for Liz and Ed's graduation next month is beyond me."

"You know my mom—she probably forgot they're even graduating this year."

Derek snorted. "Yeah, and my dad's no better."

They shared a smile, but quickly looked away, and the silence enveloped them again; it was becoming a habit. A habit Derek wanted to break as soon as possible.

DCDCDC

After a tow, and a ride from Edwin, who was all too happy to escape the house for awhile, they finally arrived on the Venturi-McDonald doorstep.

"I have to warn you," Edwin said as they stood outside the door, "The party planner Nora hired royally screwed up."

Casey looked horrified. "What does that mean?"

"It means Nora told him you liked _musicals_, and he kind of took that as…" Edwin swung the door open as he finished speaking, and Casey and Derek gasped at the scene before them.

The entire living room was decked out in High School Musical-related paraphernalia. Gabriella's face smiled at them from giant helium balloons, and the streamers were all purple and blue with tiny "Go Wildcats" emblems on them, so that the red and white of the stickers clashed horribly with the streamers. The movie posters for all three movies adorned the walls. In the corner stood a life-sized cardboard cutout of Zac Efron as Troy, and a few little girls, random cousins probably, were crowded around it, giggling. Worst of all, the High School Musical 2 soundtrack was currently blasting through the house, and Derek spied Aunt Madge doing a terrible rendition of "Bet on It" at a giant karaoke machine, as Casey's Uncle Harry cheered her on.

Casey, Derek, and Edwin stepped tentatively through the doorway, and they were met by the party planner, who threw a necklace around Casey's neck. She looked down to see that its pendant held a picture of Sharpay, with "Fabulous" scrawled around her head.

She looked to Derek for help, but the party planner was too busy fitting him with a Ryan-style fedora. Edwin nudged her and they giggled. He managed to dart out of the party planner's grasp, though, and Casey and Derek were left standing in the middle of the living room, dumbstruck.

"How the hell could Nora let him do this?" Derek hissed to her, and Casey shook her head, just as bewildered.

Finally, their presence was noticed when Nora emerged from the kitchen, carrying a tray of cupcakes decorated to look like basketballs. She saw Casey and squealed with delight, passing the tray off to a random guest and giving her daughter a bear hug.

The room quieted as people began to realize that the guest of honor had arrived.

Soon Casey was hugging and kissing people she had seen maybe five times in her life, and Derek had disappeared. When all the guests had finally been greeted, Casey followed Nora into the kitchen. George, who was pulling birthday candles out of a cabinet, turned to hug her as well.

She finally got a chance to catch her breath, and she pulled her parents aside. "Someone explain why the party planner put _this_ around my neck," she hissed, pointing to the Sharpay necklace, but trying not to show her annoyance.

Nora knitted her brow. "I'm sorry, Sweetie. We've been so busy that we let the party planner take care of everything, and I guess he misunderstood the theme…"

"You don't say." Casey began to smile, because really, it wasn't so bad.

George patted her on the back. "Casey, we'll make it up to you."

"It's not a problem, George, really. In fact, I think I'm going to go get my picture taken with Zac Efron."

"Let me get my camera," Nora smiled. They headed back out into the crowded living room as a song from High School Musical 3 began playing.

DCDCDC

Casey wiped her mouth on a Chad and Taylor napkin. She hadn't seen Derek since the party began, but she'd been enjoying catching up with Marti, Lizzie, and Edwin. They were sitting in the upstairs hallway eating their dinner. (And despite their location, they could still hear strains of "Breaking Free" reverberating through the house.)

"So Casey, you have to tell us what's going on with you and Derek," Lizzie began, and Casey choked on her latest bite of food.

"Huh?" she managed to say, and her siblings gave her a strange look.

"Aren't you two fighting? Ed said you were acting pretty cold to each other the whole way home," Lizzie explained, and Edwin nodded.

"Oh, right. Uh, yeah, we sort of had a fight last summer right before I left for school again."

"And you're still angry?" Marti wrinkled her nose. "Casey, that's stupid. You haven't seen each other for like a year."

"Well, we're not…angry. It's just awkward. Can we stop talking about this now?" Casey couldn't let her siblings know the real reason behind their argument, or what had happened that night.

Lizzie and Edwin exchanged a knowing look, then they got up suddenly and scampered down the stairs together without a word, leaving Casey and Marti alone.

"You know they're going to go get Derek's side of the story," Marti observed, and Casey just stuffed a forkful in her mouth and chewed, hoping that if she took long enough to swallow, Marti would leave as well.

No such luck.

"Casey, whatever's going on between you and Derek, you have to just deal with it. I hate that we never see you anymore. I know you were taking classes during Christmas, but there was Easter, and spring break…"

"I don't stay away because of Derek. Derek doesn't live here either, so that doesn't make sense."

"Yeah, but he _used_ to live here, and I think the memories of this house kind of make it hard for you to visit us."

Casey gaped at her sister. "What makes you say that?"

"Well, whatever happened between you two that night obviously happened here, when we were all at that carnival, because the next day you fought, and then you were gone."

Eyeing Marti suspiciously, she chose her next words carefully. "Marti, what do you know about last summer?"

"Enough."

"Enough?"

"Yeah, enough to blackmail you with—I think you'd better get over yourself and admit that what happened wasn't a fluke. Or you shall feel the Wrath of Marti." She crossed her eyes and stuck out her tongue.

Casey was too stunned to react. So Marti patted her on the head, and went downstairs.

She sat by herself for a few minutes, until she heard movement on the steps. Hoping it was a friendly face, she turned around to acknowledge whoever it was, and came face to face with…Vicky.

"Hi, cuz," she greeted unenthusiastically.

Vicky tossed her hair. "Hello, Casey. Have you seen Roger?"

"Roger…?"

"My date."

"Oh. No, I'm sorry." _At least she won't be hitting on Derek with Roger around_, Casey thought.

Vicky trounced down the steps, calling out, "You're being very anti-social, dear!"

Casey wanted to throw something at her retreating form, but her better judgment kicked in just in time.

DCDCDC

She finally wandered downstairs and came upon her great-uncle, who was about seventy and always smelled like Lysol.

"Hey kiddo, Happy Birthday," he said, as she sat down next to him with a smile.

"Hi, Uncle Greg. Thanks. Enjoying the party?" she asked.

"Sure, sure. I'd like to take this foxy lady home with me, though," he said, pointing to the image of Ashley Tisdale on his paper cup.

"You're welcome to take the cup," Casey grinned, "But the girl might need some convincing."

"Are you kidding? In my day I would have had three or four of those girls in a night. In my prime I couldn't _pay_ them to leave me alone!"

"I'm sure you were quite the catch," Casey nodded along, though she was ready to find someone else to talk to. Uncle Greg was kind of perverted, and this could get ugly.

"Why of course. Look at the behind on that girl," he gestured to the cup. "I'd like to—"

But Casey didn't quite hear what he'd like to do to Sharpay, because she mumbled something about needing some air, and hightailed it out of there.

She ran into something as she exited the room, and was surprised to discover that it was a very good-looking guy.

"I-I'm sorry," she stuttered, and he flashed her a toothy grin.

"No problem. You're Casey, right?"

"Um, yes." Casey tried to collect herself as he smiled again.

"I'm Roger." He extended his hand, and Casey shook it, though she had a feeling her palm was a little sweaty. So _this_ was Vicky's date. She couldn't imagine what Vicky saw in him. _Not_.

"Happy Birthday," he said, and she snapped to attention.

"Oh, right, thank you."

"Want to go somewhere more private and talk for a bit?" Roger suggested.

"Aren't you here with Vicky?" Casey wasn't exactly a fan of her cousin, but she wasn't about to get on her bad side by flirting with this admittedly handsome guy.

"So? She's off with people I don't know. I figured I'd talk to someone I do know."

"You don't know me."

"Sure I do. You're Casey, the birthday girl. Of course, I'd like to learn a little more about you…"

"Is there a problem here?" Derek cut in, grabbing Roger's collar.

"Whoa, hey, take it easy, buddy. We were just talking!" Roger pushed Derek away from him lightly, and straightened his shirt.

"Talking, _right_. That's why you had your hand on her arm, and she looked like she wanted to run away."

"Derek! Stop!" Casey cried, and pushed the two apart; they were engaging in a fierce stare-down.

"Roger, thanks, but no thanks. Derek, back off. You had no right to get in the middle of this."

Roger shrugged, and brushed past Derek violently as he stomped away. Derek looked like he wanted to go after him, but thought better of it. Instead, he addressed Casey, who was tapping her foot and glaring at him.

"I had no right to get in the middle? The guy was creepy, Case."

"That's not the point. I can take care of myself."

"You think I don't know that? Trust me, these last eight months have definitely shown me that you don't need anyone."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"You know exactly what it means. Do you remember what the last thing you said to me last summer was?"

Casey was becoming aware of the fact that their voices were growing louder, and various people around them were stopping what they were doing and watching them.

"Shh. Yes, I do. It was something along the lines of me asserting my independence, and you took it all wrong."

"Don't 'shh' me," Derek said, aware that people were listening, but not really caring. "I believe you said that you'd never need me, that we were better off without each other, that we don't deserve each other. Now, I have no idea what the hell that even means, but I'm pretty sure it was just you doing what you always do."

"Oh, yeah? What's that?"

"That night we spent together scared you, and you were afraid to admit it. So instead of talking it out with me like _I_ wanted to, you hid inside yourself and shut me out completely. The clock is ticking, Case. You might lose me if you wait too long."

"I…" Casey didn't really know what to say, because he was right. She had run away when they had just begun to explore their feelings, and she knew now that it had been a mistake to leave him hanging for eight months. That hadn't been fair to either of them.

Derek didn't let her linger on her thoughts for long. He grabbed her hand and pulled her towards the karaoke machine. The crowd parted to let them through, and Casey's cheeks were on fire. She was having one of her most intimate conversations ever in front of both sides of their entire extended family.

But Derek wasn't even paying attention to anyone else.

"Here," he said, thrusting a microphone into her hands. "I was looking through the soundtracks earlier, and I think we should sing this song together."

"What? What are you talking about?"

"Just sing the damn song. You'll see what I mean." Derek pressed a track on the machine, and the opening bars filled the room. Casey knew instantly which song it was; she had seen High School Musical enough times to have the soundtrack pretty much memorized. She decided to stick it out and see what happened. The title scrolled across the screen: "What I've Been Looking For (Reprise) – Troy and Gabriella."

Derek began, "_It's hard to believe/that I couldn't see/you were always there beside me…_"

Casey joined in, "_Thought I was alone/with no one to hold…_"

And together, they sang, "_But you were always right beside me…_

_This feeling's like no other_

_I want you to know_

_That I've never had someone_

_That knows me like you do_

_The way you do_

_And I've never had someone_

_As good for me as you_

_No one like you_

_So lonely before_

_I finally found_

"…_What I've been looking for_," they finished, and there was stunned silence in the room.

Casey's eyes were wet as she slowly set the microphone down, and began walking towards Derek. He felt as if everything was moving in slow motion, and that the world was on mute; he focused solely on Casey, his own microphone crashing to the floor, and before he knew it she had reached him, and planted a kiss firmly on his lips. It took him a few seconds to react, but he soon responded, and all of a sudden the din of applause reached his ears as he kissed her.

They pulled apart and stood forehead-to-forehead for a second, knowing that breaking the spell would mean answering a lot of questions from the peanut gallery. When they finally turned to the crowd, Edwin, Lizzie, and Marti were front row center and beaming. George and Nora stood back, small smiles forming on their faces when they saw how happy Derek and Casey looked.

"Want to go for a walk, Case?" Derek asked.

"Absolutely."

They headed towards the door, ignoring the mutterings that had begun to circle the room.

"We'll be back later!" Casey called to their family, and walked out the door with Derek at her heels, shutting it firmly behind them.

DCDCDC

The End! Or really, the beginning…

Anyway, here was Mal's prompt:

Dasey: It's Casey's 21st birthday, and Derek is forced to go get her from college and take her home to see the family, especially since she's having a party. Include Derek getting overprotective when a hot guy hits on Casey, their car having trouble on the way home, an old pervert, the High School Musical 2 soundtrack, a giant cardboard cutout of Zac Efron, and Derek singing a love song to Casey in front of her party guests to tell her how he really feels about her.

Thanks for reading!


End file.
